Mid Game Money (Around Elite)

Baseline: Keep Progressing and Vendoring

Prerequisite: late Normal through Elite progression. At this stage, progression itself is the income.

• ▸Loot quality rises with difficulty (legendaries almost never drop on Normal), and rarer-affix gear sells for more - together, the same vendoring loop pays better in the midgame.
• ▸Vendor badly-rolled green (Rare) gear without hesitation; stash only well-rolled MIs.
• ▸The main expenses are faction augment refits (each time you hit Honored/Revered) and crafting costs such as relics - save with re-buys in mind (see Components and Augments).
• ▸There is no end condition. Unless you're broke, skip dedicated farming and prioritize Elite progression.

Monster Totems (FG)

Forgotten Gods only. They spawn randomly across Cairn, including inside dungeons.

• ▸Prerequisite: FG installed. Spawn locations and enemy compositions vary between sessions.
• ▸Activating one spawns waves of enemies; clear them for XP and items (including blueprints). Legendaries themed to the totem's type are more likely to appear.
• ▸Three ranks (base, Forsaken, Ancient) - higher ranks mean stronger spawns and better rewards.
• ▸Activation is on your terms, so the efficient habit is clearing totems as you encounter them during progression.
• ▸The money value comes mostly from sellable gear and blueprints. Income per hour depends on spawn luck - no guarantees.

Rogue-like Dungeons

High-difficulty dungeons entered by consuming a Skeleton Key - big payout per run.

• ▸The base game has three (Steps of Torment in Act 2, Port Valbury in Act 3, Bastion of Chaos in Act 4), plus one each in AoM and FG. Steps of Torment is the accessible pick around Elite.
• ▸Entry requires a Skeleton Key. The blueprint comes from an Act 2 side-quest reward and the key is crafted at the blacksmith.
• ▸Executing Steps of Torment: start from the Broken Hills Rift and head south to the entrance. Spend the Skeleton Key at the locked door inside, descend floor by floor to the level-scaled fixed boss at the bottom, kill it, and loot the treasure trove that opens.
• ▸Inside: no personal rifts, one-way doors, the only exits are death or clearing it, and no re-entry within the same session. The end condition is the boss kill plus trove pickup - there is no mid-run bailout (be especially careful in Hardcore).
• ▸They combine XP, gear, and vendor income - but given the key cost and one-way design, empty your bags and stock consumables before entering.

What to Sell and What to Keep

• ▸Never sell crafting materials (Dynamite, Aether Crystals, Ugdenbloom, and so on) - midgame crafting and shrine restorations will consume them (see Crafting Material Routes).
• ▸Never sell unlearned blueprints - always learn them (right-click) first.
• ▸Duplicate drops of blueprints you already know are safe to vendor.
• ▸Keeping one or two Skeleton Keys in stock lets you jump into a rogue-like dungeon whenever you feel like it.

1. Official Grim Dawn Game Guide: Game Difficulties — Confirms loot quality rising with difficulty and legendaries almost never dropping on Normal (vendor-price scaling itself is not attributed to this page).
2. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: FAQ — Confirms rarer-affix gear selling for more and the recommendation to vendor high-rarity drops from harder content.
3. Official Grim Dawn Game Guide: Exploration — Confirms Monster Totems are a Forgotten Gods feature, spawn in varying locations (including dungeons) with varying challenges, and reward you for clearing the spawns.
4. Official Crate Forum: Grim Dawn Version 1.1.6.0 — Confirms Monster Totems were added in v1.1.6.0 and that certain legendaries are more likely to appear from totems.
5. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: Forgotten Gods Overview — Confirms the Japanese name, the activate/clear-waves/reward flow (XP and items including blueprints), and the three ranks (base, Forsaken, Ancient).
6. Grim Dawn Japanese Wiki: Tips — Confirms the rogue-like dungeon list (3 base, 1 AoM, 1 FG) and locations, the Skeleton Key requirement (blueprint from an Act 2 side quest, crafted at the blacksmith), the internal constraints (no personal rifts, one-way doors, exit only by death or clearing, no same-session re-entry), and the bottom boss with its treasure trove.
7. Official Crate Forum: Grim Dawn v1.2.1.6 + Hotfix — Official patch notes for the verified version.